We have been told to write about the things that we have learned here in Mwanza.
Because a) everyone else is already doing that and b) I can't write a
blog about those things, it would be a book Instead, I decided to do
something different and write about the things I didn't learn. It also
features the things that I may have learned but will probably never
understand.
Here we go:
1) That a city with this much heat and this little rain can look this
green. They say that Tampere-Mwanza project has a lot to do with that
and every time the project is mentioned, the environmental issues are
mentioned first. It is hard to believe that we can really have such and
influence and make such a difference somewhere 7.000 kilometers away.
2 That people can actually be this friendly. Random people say
"karibu" or "welcome to my city" without trying to make you buy anything
or having any other second thougths. Random people on the street stop
to wish you a good day and to ask you how you are doing. And they are
really waiting for you to answer. This is not a coincidence - it happens
all the time. People even look at you in the eyes when they are talking
to you. And all this is not meaningless crap or just a habit, people
say and do things because they care.
3) That there is always time. On Monday we visited two schools, both
really far away from where we live. We visited teacher Zacgarua
Alberto's lovely new home and spent 2,5 hours there. In the evening we
came back here and worked until 9.30 pm. Yet we were never in a hurry,
never under stress and never tired. Back home, there is never enough
time, the time runs so much faster.
4) That the children here dream big. But when you ask them why they
want to be doctors or lawyers or teachers or whatever it is that they
want to become, the answer is often the same: So that I can help other
people and give something back to my community. I may be exaggerating
when I say that the way of thinking is the exact opposite to the one in
our world, but not much. A lot of this comes from the teachings of
Julius Nyerere, but not all.
5) How much you can learn to appreciate things like staying healthy
for another day, getting even a small amount of food when you're really
hungry or water when you are thirsty, having a good time with friends...
6) That you can feel so much different without the overflowing amount
of entertainment and (usually unnecessary) information coming from
everywhere that you get used to or even dependent on in our world. And
you feel so much better without the unbelievable amount of negativity
that you find everywhere in Finland. You find yourself thinking more
clearly, your emotions becoming stronger and your senses working a lot
better. Of course the lack of hurry & stress helps a lot, too.
7) That many things don't really matter that much even though you may have thought otherwise.
8) That they were able to put together a team like ours without
actually knowing us that well. Four people who didn't know each other at
all before we came here (ok, Jasmine and me work at the same school and
we live quite near each other, but we didn't really know each other too
well until we came here). The chemistry is great, we work hard but
we're also having fun at the same time, On our free time, what is it
that are we doing - hanging out together. Four strangers have become
four friends for life.
Well, this project has an amazing leader at Tampere in Mama Vesa, Mrs. Leena
Viitasaari, and it shows. It is easy to be a worker when you have such a
great boss. Kaisa has become our leader and the mother of the house
after overcoming malaria. She has made things easy for the rest of us
here. Jasmine is the best I know in her area of expertise and thus such a
pleasure to work with. Yes, she is crazy just as the doctor said, but
her personality is what makes our house become alive. And I really don't
know what to say about Ira, the other one of our excellent teachers
here - I'm just so thankful that after many twists & turns,
coincidences and good luck, we have met and become good friends. I'm so
going to miss our discussions and I'm so going to miss you.
9) That anybody, anywhere, anytime, would welcome me & my friends
with such open arms as the people here. The children (who BTW are
really, really smart and eager to learn things), the teachers and all of
our new friends. We will always remember this month, and that is
because of you. We will stay in touch, via email, regular mail, Facebook
or in spirit, but we will.
Before coming here, New York City was my favourite place in the
world. The reason was, that whatever you wanted to see or do at that
particular moment, you could find it on one island and usually within
walking distance. But if I could choose one place I could travel to
during the rest of my life, I would come here. Want to know why? To meet
all these people one more time.
In the end, that is all you need.
P.S. 10) I would have never imagined how much writing a blog with a
tablet would be this difficult. But I would have never expected to have this much
patience either. Anyway, thank God I'll never have to do this again.
By: Ilpo Rantanen
Post Post Scriptum Scriptum. We three ladies thank Ilpo for his words and couldn´t agree more, in everything he said. Ilpo has been the voice of a reason in our house and team, and the one who creates a good, relaxed atmosphere. Thank you Mwanza, we hope we will see again. As Mr. Albert from Sahwa said: "Mountains can't meet, but people can".
(Kaisa, Ira & Jasmine)
Thursday, 8 May 2014
Friday, 2 May 2014
Week 4 in Mwanza
It has been an intense week here and that is all good - our visit here
is coming to an end and we are trying our best to make the most out of
each moment here.
The week was interrupted by May Day yesterday, which messed up our program a little bit, but after small adjustments we got to visit 3 schools in 4 working days anyway. And what a week it has been!
On Monday and Tuesday we worked at Mabatini school. The school is very popular, they have almost 1.300 students and that it is largely because of the school's excellent acadamic results. The problem is that they only have 7 classrooms, so there are classes of over 200 students. However, our teachers were impressed by the quality of teaching done inside of those classrooms.
Mabatini is a new school in this project, so we used the most of our visit getting to know each other and talking about the expectations from the co-operation, but Kaisa & Ira again showed some new teaching methods that can be used in a big class (and also outside of the classroom) and Jasmine and me again gave our suggestions on how the councelling could be organized in the school if they wish to do that in the future.
We also saw some familiar faces at Mabatini. The assistant head teacher, Mr. Ilanga Edson was a member of the Mwanza delegation at Tampere in March. And our own exchange student Monica Mzema was there, too, giving lessons about Finland and also some environmental issues, including recycling. A pleasant surprise was to meet a dozen students from Butimba Teachers' College, who were on an observation period in Mabatini. We had great discussions with them and will continue to do so via internet.
On Wednesday we went to Iseni school, which is also a new addition to the project. The entire school was busy, because it was a day of big tests in many schools, but our hosts did a great job making us feel welcome and comfortable and we left really pleased because everyone thought that under the circumstances we really achieved some noticable results in one day. We got to see the special education unit of the school and also visit their pre-primary. This was a good start and we are looking forward to going back next week.
Now we are here at Mirongo school. The athmosphere could not possibly be any more friendly. The teachers and our main host, the academic teacher Edna Kidudo, are such a pleasure to work with. And we are highly impressed by the things that they have already done here since our previous visit. Our goal was to check the situation, discuss it some more and then make a plan about some short-term goals. But now that we are here, we have gotten to witness that a large number of things have already been done and they are in progress already! It is so very rewarding - especially because we know that there is so much that we have learned at Mirongo, too, and what we will bring home with us next week when we leave. We also had an opportunity to visit the Mirongo Secondary School, which was a valuable experience. Now we now better what is tp be expected for children after the primary school and we also got to discuss with teachers with teaching and councelling. Teachers and councellors were also very interested in the Finnish educational system. The only sad thing is, that this folow-up day is our last at Mirongo. But this co-operation, the project and these friendships will continue for sure.
Next week's schedule will consist of visits to 4 schools in 3 days and then conducting the evaluation day for all project schools next Thursday. On Friday we are scheduled to head for home. We'll see what happens. :-)
by: Ilpo Rantanen
The week was interrupted by May Day yesterday, which messed up our program a little bit, but after small adjustments we got to visit 3 schools in 4 working days anyway. And what a week it has been!
On Monday and Tuesday we worked at Mabatini school. The school is very popular, they have almost 1.300 students and that it is largely because of the school's excellent acadamic results. The problem is that they only have 7 classrooms, so there are classes of over 200 students. However, our teachers were impressed by the quality of teaching done inside of those classrooms.
 |
| Mabatini third class with 170 students? |
Mabatini is a new school in this project, so we used the most of our visit getting to know each other and talking about the expectations from the co-operation, but Kaisa & Ira again showed some new teaching methods that can be used in a big class (and also outside of the classroom) and Jasmine and me again gave our suggestions on how the councelling could be organized in the school if they wish to do that in the future.
We also saw some familiar faces at Mabatini. The assistant head teacher, Mr. Ilanga Edson was a member of the Mwanza delegation at Tampere in March. And our own exchange student Monica Mzema was there, too, giving lessons about Finland and also some environmental issues, including recycling. A pleasant surprise was to meet a dozen students from Butimba Teachers' College, who were on an observation period in Mabatini. We had great discussions with them and will continue to do so via internet.
On Wednesday we went to Iseni school, which is also a new addition to the project. The entire school was busy, because it was a day of big tests in many schools, but our hosts did a great job making us feel welcome and comfortable and we left really pleased because everyone thought that under the circumstances we really achieved some noticable results in one day. We got to see the special education unit of the school and also visit their pre-primary. This was a good start and we are looking forward to going back next week.
 |
| Self made dolls for playing and learning in Iseni Pre Primary school. Thursday we spent some time on our day off at Isamilo Lodge. A great place, we highly recommend that to all visitors who come to Mwanza at any time. |
Now we are here at Mirongo school. The athmosphere could not possibly be any more friendly. The teachers and our main host, the academic teacher Edna Kidudo, are such a pleasure to work with. And we are highly impressed by the things that they have already done here since our previous visit. Our goal was to check the situation, discuss it some more and then make a plan about some short-term goals. But now that we are here, we have gotten to witness that a large number of things have already been done and they are in progress already! It is so very rewarding - especially because we know that there is so much that we have learned at Mirongo, too, and what we will bring home with us next week when we leave. We also had an opportunity to visit the Mirongo Secondary School, which was a valuable experience. Now we now better what is tp be expected for children after the primary school and we also got to discuss with teachers with teaching and councelling. Teachers and councellors were also very interested in the Finnish educational system. The only sad thing is, that this folow-up day is our last at Mirongo. But this co-operation, the project and these friendships will continue for sure.
 |
| Our team in Mirongo. Left Ira, Jasmine, Kaisa and Ilpo. |
Next week's schedule will consist of visits to 4 schools in 3 days and then conducting the evaluation day for all project schools next Thursday. On Friday we are scheduled to head for home. We'll see what happens. :-)
by: Ilpo Rantanen
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